Furnace-door operator.



PATENTED 001". 17, 1905.

H. DEADERIUK. FURNACE DOOR OPERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.27.1905.

Witnesse 7 mmm :nrrnn s'rarns TE T FFICE.

HARDIN DEADERICK, OF BARDSTOl/VN, KENTUCKY.

FURNACE-[DOOR OPERATOR.

Patented Oct. 17, 1905.

To (1, 'lll l/m'lb it may concern;

Be it known that I, HARDIN DEADERICK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bardstown, in the county of Nelson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and useful Furnace-Door Operator, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for 'mechanically opening and closing the 1iredoors of furnaces, and is more particularly applicable to locomotives and similar apparatus, and has for its object to improve the construction and increase the efficiency and utility of devices of this character.

With these and other objects in view,which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in certain novel features of construction, as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which corresponding parts are denoted by like designating characters, is illustrated the preferred form of embodiment of the invention capable of carrying the same into practical operation,

it being understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, as various changes in the shape, proportions, and general assemblage of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the'principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

1n the drawings thus employed, Figurel is a front elevation of a locomotive-boiler and a section of the floor of the cab with the improved deyices applied. Fig. 2 is a sectional view, enlarged, of the steam-cylinder. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

The boiler (represented at is provided with spaced guides 11 12 above and below the fire-door opening (indicated at 13) and slidably supporting the doors 14 15. The door 15 is provided with a buffer-spring 16, against which a buffer-lug 17 on the door 14 bears when the doors are closed, and theface of the boiler is provided with buffer-springs 18 19, against which buffer-lugs 2O 21, respectively, disposed on the doors 14 15, bear when the doors are opened. By this means the open ingand closing of the doors will be effected without jarring or concussions being transmitted to the boiler or other parts.

Pivoted at 22 to the boiler 10 is a lever 23, which for the purpose of this description is referred to as the operating-lever, the same being likewise pivoted, as at 24, to the door 14, while another lever 25, which for the purpose. of this description is referred to as the secondary lever, is pivoted intermediately of its ends, as at 26, to the boiler 10 and also pivoted at one end at 27 to the door 15. The shorter end of the secondary lever is coupled by a link 28 to the operating-lever 23 between its pivot-points 22 and 24. By this arrangement it will be obvious that if the lever 23 be forcibly moved in one direc tion the doors 14 15 will be opened and then closed by reversing the direction of motion of the lever. The proportionate distances between the pivot-points 22 24 and 26 27 and the point where the link 28 is coupled to the lever 23 are so arranged as to cause the doors to operate simultaneously and at uniform speed for obvious reasons.

Suspended, as by brackets 29. beneath the foot-board 30 of the cab is a steam-cylinder 31,

havin a Jiston-head 32, iston-rod 33 uides I 34, and cross-head 35 and coupled by a connecting-rod 36 to the lower end of the lever member 23, the movement of the piston thus being communicated to the door-actuating le vers. The cylinder is also supplied with a steam-chest 37 and steam-intake ports 38 39 and exhaust-port 40, the steam entering the steam-chest, as by pipe 41, and discharged, as by exhaust-pipe 42. A valve 43 is disposed in the steam-chest for movement over the steam and exhaust ports and provided with a stem 44, leading through the end of the steam chest.

Pivoted at 45 beneath the foot-board 30 is a lever 46, having a foot-rest 47 at one end above the foot-board and connected, as by a link 48, at the other end to a bell-crank member 49, the latter in turn connected at the other end to the free end of the valve-stem 44. A spring 50 is disposed upon the stem 44 and acting to maintain the stem and its valve yieldably in projected position. The piston-head 32 is thus maintained normally in projected or forward position, as in Figs. 1 and 2, with the foot-rest 47 elevated and the door 14 15 closed. If now the foot-rest be depressed, the valve 43 will be reversed and steam exhausted from the rear of the piston and admitted in front of the same and the piston moved to the other end of the cylinder and operating the system of levers and opening the doors 1415 and holding them open so long as the footlever remains depressed. The instant the foot-lever is released the spring 50 restores the valve to its former position, causing the exhaust from in front of the piston and admitting steam again at the rear of the same, with the efl ect of reversing the action of the system of levers and closing the doors and holding them tightly closed until the foot-lever is again operated. The foot-rest portion 47 of the lever 46 will preferably be located where the fireman usually places his left foot when in the act of supplying fuel to the boiler, which is generally a certain predetermined point on the floor of the cab, so that as the fireman approaches with a shovel of coal and places his left foot where he usually does his foot will engage the member 47 and the doors will be instantly opened without any further efl ort upon his part.

The lever member 23 is extended at the upper end into a handle 51, so that the doors may be opened manually if for any reason the steam operating mechanism fails to operate or becomes disarranged.

Mounted for rotation vertically of the boiler 10 and likewise movable vertically thereon is a shaft 52, having a. crank-arm 53 at the upper end and an enlargement 54 at the lower end. Pivoted at 55 beneath the footboard 47 is a small lever 56, extending at one end above the enlargement 54 on the vertical shaft 52 and with the other end resting loosely over a projecting portion 57 on the foot-lever 46. Disposed beneath the crankarm 53 is an inclined member 58, over which the crank'arm 53 moves when operated to cause the vertical movement of the shaft 52 at the same time that it is rotated. By this means when the crank-arm is moved over'the inclined member the lever 56 will be elevated at one end and depressed at the other end, thereby depressing the: foot-lever 46 and actuating the valve 43 in the same manner and producing the same results as when the footlever is actuated by the foot of the fireman. Thus the valve 43 may be actuated by the hand or foot, as preferred. The projection 57 being beneath the small lever 56 only, the latter is not affected when the lever 46' is operated by the foot of the fireman. A slight recess 59 is formed in the inclined member at its highest point to receive the crank member 53 and retain the same when it is desired to hold the doors 14 15 in open position for any length of time.

The pivot-bolt at 60'' by which the connect ing rod 36 is coupled to thelever 23 is detachable, so that the cylinder may be quickly released, if required, when the device is to be manually operated, which may be necessary when the locomotive is dead or when there is no steam available.

The device is simple in construction, easily applied and operated, and by means of which the furnace-doors may be instantly opened and closed, and thus all danger of undue exposure to cold indrafts avoided.

While the device has been described as operative by steam, it will be understood that compressed air or other gas under pressure may be substituted for steam without structural changes in the device; but as the construction of the source of the supply of the steam, air, or other gas is no part of the present invention it is not deemed necessary to illustrate the same. I

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a device for operating furnace-doors, the combination with the doors disposed for movement toward and away from each other, of an operating-lever pivoted respectively to astationary support and to one of said doors, a secondary lever pivoted intermediately thereof to a stationary support and pivoted at one end to the other of said doors, a link pivoted at one end to the other end of said secondary lever and with the other end of the link pivoted to said operating-lever between its pivotal points, a power-cylinder having a piston operating therein, a valve for controlling the operating medium employed in said cylinder, an inclined guide member, a rod having a lateral arm terminating in a handle and bearing upon said guide member, means for actuating said valve, and connecting means between said valve-actuating means and said rod, whereby the oscillation of said rod will operate said valve.

' 2. In a device for operatiag furnace-doors, the combination with the doors disposed for movement toward and away from each other, of an operating-lever pivoted respectively to astationarysupport and to one of said doors, means for moving said operating-lever, a secondary lever pivoted intermediately thereof to a stationary support and pivoted at one end thereof to the other of said doors, a link pivoted at one end to the other end of said secondary lever and with the other end of the link pivoted to said operating-lever between its pivotal points, a buffer-spring at the inner edge of one of said doors for hearing against the adjacent edge of the other door when said doors are closed, and buffer-springs disposed for receiving the impact of the doors when opened.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afliXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

' HARDIN DEADERICK. IVitnesses:

ANNE A. HARDIN,

M. B. ALLEN. 

